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Eoil Sceilge
Eoil Sceilge is an located to the northeast of off the Duadhnúille Peninsula of Rockall, located within the earldom of the same name in the Seafaring Confederation. Together with the island of Mionncárraig it forms the island group known as An Eoila tÓ Nuarth. Eoil Sceilge is by far the largest of the two. Of the approximately 36,200 inhabitants of An Eoila tÓ Nuarth, around 35,600 live on Eoil Sceailge. They are spread out over five baronetcies, 30 villages, and numerous . Etymology The name "Sceilge" is most likely derived from the Old Fernolian word sceillec, meaning "rock". History For more information on this subject, see history of An Eoila tÓ Nuarth. Earliest history The earliest history of inhabitation on the island is from around 1400 BC based on the name of the village of Cáistell-tálieubh. Although there is no definitive proof as there have not yet been found documents relating to the island in this time, academics believe that the word táiieubh is derived from the Taliea Clan, which infamously ruled An Bhá nan Éirith Ghréine during the same time period. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that there have been found several stones and trinkets in the area around the village bearing the identifiers of the Taliea Clan as they have been found in the Lewhorn Valley area, namely a leafless tree with three birds in it - indeed the coat of arms of the Kingdom that the island would later become. Era of Duchies The first official documentation of the island can be found on a map from around 20 AD. The map describes the island as Ensula Greinis in Latin letters, indicating at least some form of interaction with Roman culture. The name on the map, being Greinis, is a clear reference to the House of Gréine, the royal house that ruled the Duchy of Gréine at the time. It is unknown when the house became the rulers of the island, but it is likely that they were the ruling clan for a while before they became the dukes. Era of Kingdoms of the Kingdom of Gréine.]] The duchy was transformed into the Kingdom of Gréine in around 400 AD, still under the rule of the House of Gréine. The capital city was the city of Admarum, located along the southwestern shore of Láic Áimrùimm near the village of Cáistell-gréine. The first documented monarch of the island is Queen Maldrena of Gréine, who was the ruler of the island sometime during the 7th century. This was established by studying letters sent by Queen Léimma the Clear of Cáilleoch to the island in 643, and which have been preserved in the Library of the Royal Castle of Lewvale. No documents regarding any monarchs of the Kingdom of Gréine have been found for the period between the 7th en 11th centuries. The next document to contain any information on the monarchy and the general status of the island is the Gréine Armorial of 1235, which describes the coats of arms of all noble and peasant families on the island, as well as those arms of all monarchs back to King Laut of Gréine, who ascended the throne in 1048. The island remained relatively stable throughout the Era of Kingdoms. Its population also saw a steady growth throughout the centuries, which peaked at around 145,000 inhabitants in 1750. The Kingdom effectively ceased to exist in 1795 as it became a viscountcy of the Earldom of Rockall. Era of Viscountcies Geography Eoil Sceilge is characterised by a centrally located rugged mountain range simply known as An Lóda or "The Mountains". The mountain range is intersected by a number of major and carved into by and ; the most notable of these is the Two Rivers Pass or Páise-t-o-dái-óibhin located on the southern half of the island. Also scattered across the island are a number of larger lakes, as well as countless smaller ponds and so-called " ruins", former pingos which have collapsed and are now small, approximately circular lakes. Mountains See also: list of mountains on Eoil Sceilge. There are twenty-five named mountain tops on the island, the highest of which is Béinn-le-thÚirreachin with a height of 1293 metres (4242 ft) followed closely by the more northernly Áilbéinn which has a height of 1238 metres (4062 ft). In addition to these mountain tops, there are a number of outcrops that are also named but are not "officially" mountains by local tradition; these are not named Béinn but rather as Tóir. There are also three outcrops on the island that are traditionally designated as ridges, or Cruib. These are the Cruib-le-ghéibhunninnegh in the north, and the Cruib-le-dheaibhaid Máibhéig and Cruib-le-dheaibhaid Máibheuirr in the south. Water See also: list of lakes on Eoil Sceilge and list of streams on Eoil Sceilge. The island boasts seventeen larger lakes, countless smaller lakes and ponds, 21 rivers and countless small streams and rivulets. The largest lake on the island is Láic Aonbpen on the southern half of the island; the longest river is the Óibh Thálieubh on the northern half of the island. A notable river on the island is the relatively short Máireolth 's Táibhelùic, or, when translated into English, "Death and Silence". The relatively short river (around 1.2 km in length) has an unusual geological structure where the surface of the river seems calm and safe, whereas the subsurface part of it is a lethal rapid running through a deep crevice with many corners which have proven deadly. A famous story involving the Máireolth 's Táibhelùic is the story of Elsin, Prince of the Two Rivers, who was heir-apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Gréine under Queen Dráigea II in the 13th century. The story goes that the young prince, then in his later teens, decided to disregard the advice of his mother and the court councillors and rode with a couple of friends to the infamous river. In his misjudgement there, he decided to try and jump over the narrowest part of the river (incidentally the part that is also the wildest under the service), and he slipped after a wrong landing after the fourth jump, falling into the waters below. The story goes that all that was found of the young prince was a torn off arm covered in deep cuts to the bone, and that the outlet of the river into the lake turned red, coloured by the blood of the young prince. The lake thus became known as Láic-o'n-dTéaiseoig-Máire, or "Dead Prince Lake", and the waterfalls at the outlet as Reaidhrin-cóich, or "Red Waterfalls". Cliffs Flora Fauna Government Eoil Sceilge is part of the viscountcy of Líchthiach Thiair, located administratively in the barony of the South Coast of Loch Mhólanne. Islanders vote in elections for both the viscountcial and baronial legislatures, which are both based on . On the federal level, the island is part of the constituency of An Eoila tÓ Nuarth and represented in the House of Commons by Báildréig Báillagh of the Green Right. Baronetcies The island is divided into five baronetcies: Scéilge Ó Nuard, An Óichra tÓ iÚrrain na Lóda nan Eoil, Sceilge Ó Duadh le Mionncárraigegh, An Cóste Mionnbá and Point nan Eoil Máibheuirr. Each baronetcy is headed by a baronet and his deputies, who are controlled by a baronetcy council. On Eoil Sceilge, all five baronetcy councils are comprised of 25 councillors. The baronetcies form the most direct governmental contact for the islanders, and many baronetcies have several offices within their territory to make access to governmental issues easier. Island Council The Island Council of Eoil Sceilge is a unique governmental institution in Rockall in that it takes over most of the duties of a barony whilst not actually being a barony. The only other of its kind is the Island Council of Mionncárraig, the other island of the archipelago. Though administratively part of the barony of the South Coast of Loch Mhólanne, the Island Council is the de facto baronial council of the island. It is comprised of 25 directly elected members, 25 members elected amongst the five baronetcy councils (five members per council), as well as the island's five baronets. Its duties lie mostly with the general interbaronetcy coordination, island-wide policies, emergency responses, general finances, and spatial planning. Uniquely, the existence of the Island Council of Eoil Sceilge is guaranteed by an article in the Constitution of Líchthiach Thiair, which allows for a special autonomy for An Eoila tÓ Nuarth. These island then decided to split up into two separate councils in 1955, a situation which has maintained to this day and is unlikely to change. Culture Language The official language on the island is Fernolian, although in practice an isolated dialect of Fernolian is spoken known as Sceilgeaig. Distinct from the dialects of Fernolian on the mainland, it is characterised by of more consonants than in standard Fernolian. Another distinctive feature that is unique to Sceilgeaig is that are still pronounced in spoken language. For example, compare the pronunciation of the word fóirdh, meaning "road", in standard Fernolian versus Sceilgeaig. In standard Fernolian, this word has into fo:rð. In Sceilgeaig, however, it is pronounced fɥɨrd̪. Another example would be the word for "sheep": in standard Fernolian the word is déifeid, pronounced de:ˈfeɪd, whereas in Sceilgeaig the word is deaibhaid, pronounced ˈdʲi:jʏiwɨd̪. Festivals Transport Access The island can be reached from mainland Rockall by ferry and by plane. Ports An hourly ferry leaves from An Óichra and sails via Ó Duadh to Eoilanthir. A seasonal ferry, sailing from May till September, also leaves from Ó Duadh thrice a day to Nuirdhebh. The villages of Póirthléaid-le-ghéibhunnin, Póirthléaid-le-dhái-lóinnin, Láic-le-léubheaintin, Póirthléaid-dúibh, Óiberaonbpen, Ó Duadh, Óiberdrennig and An Óichra have noncommercial ports for private use, which are very much in favour with sailors and yachts. Especially Láic-le-léuibheaintin is a popular destination with recreational sailors. Airports Eoil Sceilge boasts four airports and three heliports. All but one airport and one heliport are in use for , with the remaining aiport and heliport being used for . Of the airports and heliports used for civil aviation, only one airport, Eoil Sceilge Domestic, is in use for . The other airports are: *for : **Dái-óibhin Airfield **Admarum Airfield *for : **Páise tAchrannan Airbase. The heliports are: *An Óichra Heliport (private aviation) *Point nan Eoil Heliport (private aviation) *Páise tAchrannan Heliport (military avation) Roads Railway The island is served by a railway system known as the Sceilge Railway. Built in the 1910s, the railway is still in regular use today and is the island's main means of public and freight transport. With 110 stations and halts there is one halt per 324 inhabitants, the lowest number of inhabitants per train station in any place in the country. Most of these halts are no more than a small stone platform next to the railroad, and many serve no more than ten houses directly. There are four trainlines on the island: *West Coast Main Line, running from Ó Duadh via Mionnbá to Póirthléaid-le-ghéibhunnin; *East Coast Main Line, running from Ó Duadh via An Óichra to Póirthléaid-le-ghéibhunnin; *Highfields Line, running from Point nan Eoil via Póirthléaid-le-ghéibhunnin and Mionnbá to Méasdeabheaid; *Circle Line, running a circle route between An Óichra, Mionnbá, Point nan Eoil Máibheuirr and Cáistell-gréine. Other public transport Places Per baronetcy, and clockwise from the north (with the population between brackets). Hamlets are not included. *Scéilge Ó Nuard (9,870) **Point nan Eoil (3,302) **Póirthléaid-le-ghéibhunnin (345) **An Fóirt (268) **Láic-le-bhlóidhnin (515) **Pont-le-cheuidhnin (385) **Glenn Cúdio (1,022) **Cáistell-gréine (2,502) **Téighin-o-phréinn (450) **Abóingóichra (1,081) *An Óichra tÓ iÚrrain na Lóda nan Eoil (3,333) **An Óichra (1,424) **Perlannin (376) **Óiberdrennig (210) **Glenntrifóirdhin (465) **Glennóirléibh (505) **Róisseartéigh (353) *Sceilge Ó Duadh le Mionncárraigegh (including Mionncárraig) (8,509) **Ó Duadh (4,834) **Óiberaonbpen (1,392) **Dái-óibhin (290) **Óibhmhéaisin (927) **Réiug-an-Mioncárraig (1066) *An Cóste Mionnbá (5,556) **Mionnbá (3,209) **Láic-le-léubheaintin (469) **Póirthléaid-dúibh (533) **Méasdeaibhaid (762) **Agéibhunnin-in-bpennin (583) *Point nan Eoil Máibheuirr (8,933) **Point nan Eoil Máibheuirr (2,390) **Póirthléaid-le-dái-lóinnin (1,300) **Adéi (670) **Óiberdéru (1,634) **Táibhelùic (823) **Cáistell-tálieubh (2,116) Category:Islands of Rockall Category:Eoil Sceilge